No charges against man in case of missing teen girl

Friday

Feb 28, 2014 at 3:15 AM

By Mikaela K. Reynoldsmreynolds@fosters.com

MIDDLETON — The unidentified 26-year-old man found with the 16-year-old girl who was reported as abducted earlier this month, and located hours later in a Rochester motel, has been cleared of any possible charges.

Rochester Police Capt. Paul Toussaint said that has concluded its investigation into the incident. “There will be no charges coming from Rochester for either party involved.”

While the juvenile was located in Rochester with the man, she was reported missing from Middleton.

“We’ve been in communication with Sgt. Anthony Deluca, who heads the Investigative Services Bureau in Rochester, and at this point the investigation is changing gears to determine what, if any, juvenile charges will be filed,” said Middleton Sgt. Tim Brown.

Police acted in response to a reported child abduction on Feb. 15, only to find the child, safe, in a Rochester motel hours later.

“Law enforcement has to take any reported abduction seriously,” Brown said.

“Based on Rochester’s finding, it’s clear that no abduction occurred,” he added.

Middleton police are now investigating the incident from their end, where the abduction was reported.

“The public can rest assured that if there is a charge to bring, the Middleton police will bring a charge,” Brown said.

According to a release on the incident from the Middleton police, officials responded to a Middleton residence just after 8 p.m. on Feb. 15 for the reported abduction of the girl.

A command center was established in the Middleton Town Hall and FBI offices in Boston and Bedford, N.H., were notified. State Police and off-duty personnel from nearby communities were called in for investigative assistance.

Just before 11 p.m., a press release identifying the missing juvenile was issued. The release was sent out over Middleton’s social media resources and, within minutes, reached more than 25,000 people.

Based on information provided by the public and investigative resources, the girl was located in Rochester at an undisclosed motel just before 1:30 a.m.

Rochester Police Sgt. Jeremy Aucoin said then that the girl was transported to a hospital for evaluation, which police say is standard procedure. He said the hospital evaluation was precautionary due to her age. She has since been reunited with her family. Though police have not since identified the girl, they will not be identifying the charges she could face, if any, because they publicly identified her during their search.

Brown said no further information on the case will be shared.

“We won’t be publicly commenting on what charges would be brought, as were required by law to protect juvenile confidentiality,” he said.